20th Annual Festival
of Dance & Music
April 8 - April 19, 2026
The 20th Annual CubaCaribe Festival of Dance and Music will be a retrospective of the last 20 years of performances and a celebration of moving forward in community, resistance and joy.
We are incredibly proud and honored to still be showcasing amazing traditional, often unseen, master artists through performances, community engagement and educational outreach activities over the course of the festival’s 14 days.
Mirando atras, moviendo pa’lante /
Looking back, Moving forward
A retrospective of 20 years of performances
and a celebration of moving forward in community, resistance and joy.
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April 10-12, ODC Theater
Looking back, Moving forward/ Mirando atras, moviendo pa’lante
​Features a mixed program of six diverse pieces that were chosen based on their artistry and impact from past festival performances over the last 20 years by artistic director Ramón Ramos Alayo and executive director Jamaica Itule Simmons.
Acclaimed Bay Area Caribbean and Latinx performing artists featured are Alayo Dance Company (Afro-Cuban Modern), Alafia Dance Ensemble (Afro-Haitian), Arenas Dance Company (Afro-Cuban Folkloric), Cunamacué (Afro-Peruvian), Moving Juntos (Cuban Youth Ensemble) & Los Lupeños de San José (Mexican Folkloric), .
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April 17-18, Bay View Opera House
​Featuring an evening length work by Shefali Shah and Aguacero.
This will be an evening length performance that highlights the transitional experience and journey of young women facing womanhood through Puerto Rican Bomba music and dance. ​​
FULL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
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Wednesday April 8
7:00 - 9:00pm : Lecture/Demo: with historian John Santos on The Parallel Colonial Histories that Unite the Music of Cuba and Puerto Rico @ MoAD
Friday April 10
8:00pm : Performance: Mixed Program show @ ODC Theater
Saturday April 11
8:00pm : Performance: Mixed Program show @ ODC Theater
Sunday April 12
4:00pm : Performance: Mixed Program show w/ honoring of John Santos @ ODC Theater
Wednesday April 15
7:00 - 9:30pm : Community Gathering/Celebration: Ritmo, Palabra y Movimiento: Una peña @ CANA: Indigenous Peoples Cultural Arts Healing Center
Friday April 17
7:00pm : Performance: Enraizando/Rooting Within Featuring Shefali Shah and Aguacero and guests @ Bay View Opera House
Saturday April 18
7:00pm : Performance: Enraizando/Rooting Within Featuring Shefali Shah and Aguacero and guests @ Bay View Opera House
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Sunday April 19
2:30 - 6:00pm : Puerto Rican Music & Dance Gathering/Jam: Bombatey. This Batey event will start with a Q&A featuring Shefali Shah and artists and collaborators of Enraizando/Rooting Within project. @ La Peña Cultural Center.
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ACCESSIBILITY
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All of our Festival venues (ODC Theater, Casa de Carnaval Indigenous Peoples Cultural Arts Healing Center, Bay View Opera House, La Peña Cultural Center) are ADA compliant. Please email contact@cubacaribe.org if you need special accommodations or have any questions.
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Images by
Tom Ehrlich, Areito Photography, Alexa Trevino,
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